Statement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Japan Business Council

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Japan Business Council provided a written testimony to the U.S. International Trade Commission on Dec. 10, on negotiating objectives for a U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement.

As stated in the testimony, the organizations aimed to “emphasize the importance of any potential U.S.-Japan trade agreement to set high-standards and rules in the Indo-Pacific while noting that others in the region are rapidly pursuing and finalizing agreements that have similar potential and far-reaching implications for American business interests.”

The potential agreements include the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership that will enter into force Dec. 30, 2018, and the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement which is slated to go into force on Feb. 1, 2019.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Japan Business Council, these agreements, once enacted, will put American companies at a competitive disadvantage in one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions. The Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement represents the largest bilateral trade deal negotiated by the E.U., and will establish an open trade zone that covers more than 600 million people. In total, the agreement will remove over 1 billion euros in tariffs paid annually by E.U. companies exporting to Japan—and there were real market access gains made for the E.U. on autos and agricultural products, from which U.S. exporters will not benefit.